Alexa Chung Reveals Her Bad Beauty Habits

Alexa Chung may be known in the fashion-sphere for her coltish style, but in the beauty world, we prefer to fawn over her haphazard bangs and signature cat eye. If you haven't noticed, the It girl has mastered the art of accentuating her already-feline stare. So when news broke eye makeup line Eyeko was scooping up Chung as its new creative director, we had to stand and applaud.

Last night, Chung made an appearance in NYC to celebrate the debut of her limited edition Alexa for Eyeko set—a collection that includes a liquid eyeliner, mascara, and an Alexa-made poster and guitar pick. We chatted with the British beauty, and she revealed to us her tricks for achieving the perfect winged liner, why she'll never launch a fragrance, her beauty bad habits, and her New Year's resolutions.

You're a big fan of winged liner. Do you have any tricks for getting the perfect cat eye?

I did a couple of videos for Eyeko, but basically just do the flick bit first and fill that in. Other than that it's just really hard practice basically, because everyone's eyes are different shapes and it's just about experimenting with how thick you want to do it.

How long did it take you to perfect your cat eye today?

Like literally five years.

Do you think the cat eye works with every outfit?

Yeah, definitely. That's why I like it. That's why I like navy blue jumpers. That's why I like Converse. That's why I like black eyeliner. It's something you can wear with everything else. They're the cornerstones.

Why do you prefer liquid eyeliner over a kohl pencil?

Just for the effect. If you use kohl for a cat eye it smudges and moves around. A liquid will stay in a more graphic shape and you can do more illustrations with it. Kohl in my mind is more for underneath the eye and getting a smokier effect.

Would you ever be interested in doing another kind of beauty collaboration, like a fragrance perhaps?

No on the fragrance. I wouldn't know where to start with that. I like perfume but it's pretty cheesy to do a scent isn't it? I'd only want to do cooler things and weirder things. Things no one thought about doing before.

What beauty trick did you learn from your mother?

No, you obviously don't know Gill Chung. I grew up in the countryside and she's naturally beautiful, but she wasn't big on makeup. Even now, she's like, "Where does this one go again Alexa?" And I'm like, "That's blusher, Mother! That's for your cheeks!" She does like a red lip, though. She's good at a red lip. But I'm the one who teaches her beauty tricks, even though she really doesn't need any makeup. That's the problem with having a pretty mom. You're like, "Well what the fuck am I supposed to do now?"

What are the top three must-have products that you keep in your bag all the time?

I don't really have anything in there. A phone and a credit card maybe. I can't even deal with a wallet, so I just have one card and if it fails or gets declined I'm like [shrugs]. I'm out. Like I always get a fear in a taxi that it's not going to work and I'll have to be like, "Oh no! I don't have any other money with me, sorry!" But yeah, I'm quite absent-minded so it's better if I don't have anything with me; otherwise it's just a loss waiting to happen. I am a loss waiting to happen.

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